Uchronia

Uchronia refers to a hypothetical or fictional time-period of our world, in contrast to altogether fictional lands or worlds. A concept similar to alternate history but different in the manner that uchronic times are not easily defined (mainly placed in some distant or unspecified point before current times), sometimes reminiscent of a constructed world. Some, however, do use uchronia to refer to an alternate history.[1]

The word is a neologism from the word utopia (Greek u-topos, meaning "no-place"), replacing topos with chronos (time). It was coined by Charles Renouvier as the title of his 1876 novel Uchronie (L'Utopie dans l'histoire), esquisse historique apocryphe du développement de la civilisation européenne tel qu'il n'a pas été, tel qu'il aurait pu être (Uchronia (Utopia in History), an Apocryphal Sketch of the Development of European Civilization Not as It Was But as It Might Have Been[2]), reprinted 1988, ISBN 2-213-02058-2.

The concept of Merry England is an example of uchronic myth. It refers to a poorly defined point after Medieval England, mainly existing as a collective memory and nostalgia of a better past, although historically such a period never existed.

Uchronian settings

See also

References

  1. ↑ Paul Di Filippo. "Off the Shelf: The Peshawar Lancers". Book Review. SciFi.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  2. ↑ Uchronia: Uchronie (l'utopie dans l'histoire), esquisse historique apocryphe du développement de la civilisation européenne tel qu'il n'a pas été, tel qu'il aurait pu être, Uchronia.net, retrieved 2011-10-01


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